The Populist Movement

In late-nineteenth-century United States, agrarian reformers in southern and midwestern states collaboratively organized for government action against business monopolies, exorbitant railroad rates, secret ballots and political corruption, and the gold standard for currency. Because the Republican and Democratic parties were not meeting their needs, these “common men” farmers and small business owners joined the “people’s party” or Populist party as a third- party alternative. Emerging from earlier political efforts of farmers, such as the Granger movement and the Farmer’s Alliance, the Populists attracted not only rural white male farmers, but also African American farmers and women reformers. This primary source set highlights prominent Populists, propaganda from political campaigns, and political arguments of the movement. After reading and viewing these documents, assess how central the “common people” are to the movement.

Show full overview

Created By

Jamie Lathan, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, North Carolina

Time Period

Subjects

Jamie Lathan. The Populist Movement. 2016. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-populist-movement?timePeriod=the-development-of-the-industrial-united-states-1870-1900. (Accessed February 22, 2019.)

APA citation style

Jamie Lathan, (2016) The Populist Movement. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-populist-movement?timePeriod=the-development-of-the-industrial-united-states-1870-1900

MLA citation style

Jamie Lathan. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America <http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-populist-movement?timePeriod=the-development-of-the-industrial-united-states-1870-1900>.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.